Used car batteries will power homes

Old car batteries could offer a cheaper storage alternative to lithium-ion home batteriesIan Nicholson/PA

Old electric vehicle batteries are to be sold to households to store power in their homes under plans announced by Renault.

The company, Europe’s biggest electric carmaker, has struck a deal with the domestic battery provider Powervault to repurpose old batteries when they are no longer fit for use in cars.

Powervault said that using the “second life” batteries would enable it to offer home storage for about £3,000, a 30 per cent discount on new lithium-ion home batteries, and should boost take-up.

Only a few thousand UK households are thought to have installed batteries, but it is considered a fast-growing market as technology costs fall. Batteries are primarily marketed at households with solar panels to allow them to store surplus solar power generated during…

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